Yesterday at Zarzuela Palace in Madrid, King Felipe presided over the ceremony which saw Mariano Rajoy Brey continue in his role as the Prime Minister of Spain.
This comes after ten months of political deadlock over the formation of a new government. Brey, a member of the conservative People’s Party, was voted the new prime minister. He secured enough votes to remain as the prime minister by a total of 170 Member of Parliament (MP) votes to 111 MP votes.
Sixty-eight members abstained from the voting, which mostly came from the Spanish Socialist Party (PSOE). However, fifteen members of the PSOE voted against Brey continuing his role. This ended the more than 300 days of uncertainty regarding the Spanish government. Had Brey not been elected as prime minister, Spain would have been facing a third election.
King Felipe during the swearing in of Mariano Rajoy Brey as Prime Minister. Photo: © Casa de S.M. el Rey
At Zarzuela Palace, President of the Senate, Pio Garcia-Escudero Márquez; the president of the Supreme Court and the General Council of the Judiciary, Carlos Lesmes Serrano; President of the Congress of Deputies, Ana Maria Pastor Julian; and the general director of Registries and Notaries, Javier Gómez Gálligo were all in attendance yesterday afternoon when His Majesty presided over the swearing in of Mr Mariano Rajoy Brey.
The ceremony took place in the same way as previous years with the Prime Minister taking the oath in front of a cross and a Bible edited in Valencia in 1791 which had been owned by King Carlos IV. A copy of the Spanish Constitution was also on the table when he was sworn in.
King Felipe signing the Royal Decree on 30 October. Photo: © Casa de S.M. el Rey
On Sunday, 30 October, His Majesty signed the Royal Decree, as set out in Article 62 of the Spanish Constitution, appointing Brey as Prime Minister of Spain. King Felipe recommended Brey for the position after consulting with the representatives of the political parties in Parliament, in accordance with Article 99.
